1. Field
This disclosure relates to a vehicle control apparatus that controls a vehicle such that the vehicle runs along a running lane.
2. Description of Related Art
In a vehicle control apparatus that controls a vehicle such that the vehicle runs along a running lane, the vehicle runs without requiring the driving operation, and therefore, a driver is sometimes in a hand-release state in which the driver has released his hands from a steering wheel. As for such a hand-release state, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 7-25301 describes an apparatus that raises an alarm in the case where the driver continues the hand-release state for a given time or more.
However, in the above-described related apparatus, the situation of the vehicle is not considered. Therefore, even when the vehicle is running along a sharp curve on a narrow road or even when the vehicle is going straight on a wide road, regardless of the situation, the alarm is performed in the same way depending on the time during which the driver continues the hand-release state. Therefore, there is a possibility that the alarm is performed at an improper timing that is not appropriate to the situation of the vehicle.